Ryan Durant, the owner and executive chef of Assaggio in Branford, is in the running for PEOPLE's "Sexiest Chef Alive." (Courtesy of Food Network)

Ryan Durant, the owner and executive chef of Assaggio in Branford, isn’t quite sure how he ended up on the finalist list for PEOPLE’s “Sexiest Chef Alive.” But he suspects it might have something to do with a viral video from 2015.

That summer, in a segment on WFSB’s “Better Connecticut,” Durant was preparing crab cakes on set with anchors Scot Haney and Kara Sundlun when Haney asked the chef if he was married.

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“I am not,” Durant replied, and a shocked Haney dropped his fork and walked off stage. The video ended up on Buzzfeed, with the headline “Thirsty Anchor Drops His Fork Over Sexy Chef On Live TV.” On the next day’s episode, Haney said Durant was “probably one of the most beautiful men I’ve ever seen.”

Three years later, Durant is one of 10 chefs vying for the title, and will be featured on a Nov. 1 TV special on Food Network, which showcases “up-and-coming culinary hotshots who are on fire in the kitchen (and out!).” One of them will be chosen as the “Sexiest Chef in America,” earning a feature in PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive issue, on newsstands Nov. 9.

“The call was definitely a little out of the blue for me,” Durant said, laughing, saying he had to check the caller ID to make sure it wasn’t a prank. “My friends and family have certainly gotten a good kick out of it, for sure.”

The 33-year-old Prospect native started his culinary career young, folding boxes at a pizzeria. “I got a rush out of the business,” he said, and became a partner in Assaggio in his early 20s. For the past nine years, he’s been sole owner and executive chef of the Italian restaurant on Montowese Street, which is about to undergo some menu and branding changes.

“Our new menu is very much based on the seasons,” he said. “We’re keeping that strong Italian backbone, but we’re kind of bringing it forward for a more educated clientele that we have nowadays. We’re keeping some of the things that we’ve had and loved...just streamlining it and adding some stuff we’re passionate about.”

Durant’s marital status has changed, too, in the years since the viral fork drop. In May, he married his wife, Gillian, in a small ceremony and the couple is planning a larger wedding in her native London next summer. They share a love of travel and wine, he says.

He expects the Food Network special to feature “day in the life” scenes of them hanging out and cooking at their East Haven home, along with sit-down interviews at the restaurant.

“I think we’ll do a little viewing party. My friends are dying to come over,” he says. “I’ll do some cooking and some wine, and they can make fun of me for the evening.”